Tarakohe Shipping Co. Ltd. Formed in 1954 as a joint venture to ship cement
for the Golden Bay Cement Co. Ltd. which finally took over the sole operation
of its vessels with Tarakohe being liquidated in 1992. The flag shown by The
Log 11/1998 reflects the Golden Bay connection, and may more accurately be
listed against that company although a different version is noted against
them, this one being yellow with a blue border and bearing a white diamond
bearing the red legend "PORTLAND" over " GOLDEN BAY" over " CEMENT" with the
middle lettering being larger.Neale Rosanoski, 3 November 2010

Tasman-Asia Shipping. Co. This was not an Australian company based
Hobart. Not sure where that originated but the flag shown by Brown
1995 was reported by me to Louis Loughran following a sighting of the
T A Mariner in Lyttelton November 1989. The company itself, which was in
the New Zealand – Asia trade had its basis in a joint venture formed
in 1986 between the Norwegian company of Kristian Jebsens Skipsrederi
A/S, who had been operating in this service from the early 1980s, and
Tasman Pulp & Paper Co. Ltd. of Tauranga, New Zealand. The joint
venture known as Tasman Jebsen New Zealand Line lasted until towards
the end 1988 when Jebsen withdrew. This lead to the formation of
Tasman Asia Shipping Co. Ltd. which was registered at Auckland, NZ,
10 October 1988 and which traded until March 1999 when it merged into Tasman
Orient Line Ltd.
The company used chartered tonnage which can lead more easily to
variances in funnel markings which can often be helpful in determining
flag sightings. At this stage I was not photographing so I can only go
by notes of the time which did not suggest that there was any question
over the colours. Provided I was correct then there was a subsequent
change in the colours by the time of the next sighting in October 1990 with
T A Navigator when the colours of the seahorse and crescent were
noted as yellow and the stars as blue edged either white or yellow,
the sighting being at a distance leading to uncertainty on this point.
As vessels of this service were very infrequent callers at Lyttelton
it was not until I had moved back to the North Island and visited
Wellington that I was able between 1996-1998 to determine for sure
that the stars were definitely edged yellow. During this time it was
possible to closely study the houseflag which was flown at the
entrance to the Port in 1996 and then to a
replacement version in 1997 which showed a smaller logo and "TASMAN
ASIA SHIPPING" in blue lettering underneath which although being full sized, was, I assume, a shore marketing flag as I never saw any of the ships flying it as proved by photos of the T A Navigator in June 1997.Neale Rosanoski, 19 May 2008

Tasman Express Line Ltd. Operated from 1985 to 1999. The flag, of which I hold
one, was white with a panel of a captain's sleeve in blue and gold. It was based
on that of the Scandinavian Continental Line A/B from whom it chartered two
vessels with their permission as the
trading areas of the two were well apart [detail received from the company]
and there was a small alteration which saw the small nick on the upper band
disposed with and going by the table flag shown by Josef Nüsse for SCL the
panel proportions also differed. The flag was first sighted on the
"Canterbury Express" in 1986.Neale Rosanoski, 3 November 2010

Tasman Pulp & Paper Co. Ltd. Formed in 1952 it entered shipowning in 1977 with
specialized vessels for its trans-Tasman trade. Becoming part of Fletcher
Challenge it was sold to Norwegian interests in 2000 and its last vessel sold.
The flag, taken from an actual held, was a deeper sky blue with a narrow white
horizontal band and overall an undefined white circle bearing a green "T" with a
wavy top.Neale Rosanoski, 3 November 2010

This flag was originally adopted in the year 1875. As for the Union Steam Ship
Company itself, it was a highly successful shipping institution dealing with
both passenger and freight transportation in New Zealand and between New Zealand
and other Pacific countries. At its height, in 1914, it operated the largest
fleet of its type in the southern hemisphere. In 1917, it was acquired by the
Peninsula and Orient (P&O) company, under whose control it performed only
moderately. In 1972, it came under the control of a Australasian company before
being bought by Brierley Investments, a well-known New Zealand group, in the
1980s. By this time, the company was only a fraction of its former size. When
the shipping industry in New Zealand was opened up to foreign craft, which operated
much more cheaply than the Union Steam Ship Company could afford to do, the
operation became unprofitable. Brierley Investments wound up its shipping concerns
near the beginning of the 1990s.The company, and its flag, are now defunct.Thomas Robinson, 3 January 2001

Union Steam Ship Co. of New Zealand Ltd. was formed in 1875 and at one stage
was the largest shipping company in the Southern Hemisphere. The flag (I hold
an actual) depicted is slightly incorrect in that the panel of the Union Flag
was not edged i.e. the red of the Union merges with the field and the "o"
of "Co" is slightly smaller and is enhanced with several sources incorrectly
show a dot under it.Neale Rosanoski, 3 October 2002

Union Shipping New Zealand

In 1987 the company changed its name to Union Shipping
New Zealand Ltd. with a change of the flag in that the letters became "U"
(hoist), "S" (fly) and "N.Z." (base). These details are
taken from an actual flag. The company finally ceased operating in 2001.Neale Rosanoski, 3 October 2002

Is the Union Jack actually squeezed, or more like the Union Steamship Company image above? I imagine that the first examples of this flag were made by adding extra bunting around a
regular Union Jack - is this plausible?António Martins, 28 January 2006

image by Neale Rosanoski, 19
March 2010

Union Steam Ship Co. of New Zealand/Union Shipping New Zealand. In answer
to António's questions I enclose a photo of an actual flag to confirm the
proportions. With regard to the manufacture his thought is not only plausible
but is exactly how they were always made. The Union Flag in the centre is made
by the sewing together of the various coloured areas and the red border is then
sewn on by adding one long length top and bottom with shorter lengths filling in
hoist and fly. Unlike the normal flag material which can be seen through when
held up, the letters are of a different opaque material and are double sided
with one being sewn to each side of the flag. I never got that close to a Union
Shipping flag but would imagine that it exactly the same manufacture with just
the letters changed. I enclose my [poor] best photo of it in support which does
not show the "S" in the fly but it is there.Neale Rosanoski, 19
March 2010